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Article published In: Diachronica
Vol. 39:1 (2022) ► pp.88–127

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Bidirectionality between modal and conditional constructions in Mandarin Chinese

A constructionalization account

ORCiD logo with link | University of Edinburgh
Published online: 14 September 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.20047.kuo
Abstract
This paper proposes that modal constructions can develop into conditional constructions in Mandarin Chinese and vice versa. Therefore, bidirectionality exists between these kinds of constructions diachronically. While bidirectionality is an apparent violation of unidirectionality, both directions of change are shown to be regular cases of procedural constructionalization, enabled by the fact that modal and conditional constructions can perform identical indirect speech acts (i.e., they are performatively equivalent) and instances of one may be morphosyntactically categorized as the other in Chinese (i.e., they are morphosyntactically vague). A crosslinguistically generalizable prediction is then proposed: bidirectionality is possible if instances of two constructions are performatively equivalent and morphosyntactically vague with respect to each other in certain contexts.
Résumé
Cet article propose que les constructions modales en mandarin se transforment en constructions conditionnelles au fil du temps, et vice versa. Il y aurait donc une bidirectionnalité diachronique entre ces deux types de construction. Alors que cette bidirectionnalité contredit, au premier abord, le principe que le changement linguistique ne peut procéder que dans une direction, le passage d’une construction à l’autre s’avère être, peu importe la direction, un cas régulier de construction procédurale. Cette observation découle du fait que les constructions modales et conditionnelles servent à des fins d’élocution identiques (i.e., elles sont équivalentes de point de vue performatif) et par le fait qu’elles peuvent se confondre dans une même catégorie morphosyntaxique (i.e., les deux présentent une morphosyntaxe vague). On propose donc une prédiction généralisable sur le plan translinguistique: la bidirectionnalité est possible lorsque deux constructions sont équivalentes du point de vue performatif et lorsqu’il n’est pas évident de distinguer la morphosyntaxe de chacune des deux constructions dans certains contextes.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Beitrag führt aus, dass sich Modalkonstruktionen im Mandarin-Chinesischen zu Konditionalkonstruktionen entwickeln können und umgekehrt. Daher existiert diachron gesehen eine bidirektionale Beziehung zwischen diesen Arten von Konstruktionen. Während Bidirektionalität einen Verstoß gegen Unidirektionalität darstellt, wird gezeigt, dass beide Richtungen des Wandels reguläre Fälle prozeduraler Konstruktionalisierung sind. Dies ist dadurch motiviert, dass Modal- und Konditionalkonstruktionen dieselben indirekten Sprechakte ausüben können (d.h. sie sind performativ äquivalent) und dass Vertreter der einen Konstruktionen im Chinesischen morphosyntaktisch als Vertreter der anderen Konstruktionen klassifiziert werden können (d.h. sie sind morphosyntaktisch vage). Eine sprachübergreifende Verallgemeinerung wird vorgeschlagen: Bidirektionalität ist dann möglich, wenn Vertreter zweier Konstruktionen performativ äquivalent und in bestimmten Kontexten im Verhältnis zueinander morphosyntaktisch vage sind.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The invited inferencing theory of semantic change and diachronic construction grammar
    • 2.1The frameworks
    • 2.2Contexts in constructionalization
  • 3.Data
  • 4.Modal and conditional constructions in Chinese
    • 4.1Modal and conditional constructions characterized
    • 4.2Vagueness between modals and protasis connectives
    • 4.3Morphosyntactic contexts of vagueness
  • 5.From modality to conditionality
    • 5.1The modal and conditional xū constructions
    • 5.2[xū p shǐ dé] as a construction
    • 5.3[xū p shǐ dé] as the critical context
  • 6.From conditionality to modality
    • 6.1The conditional and modal fēi constructions
    • 6.2[fēi p bù kě] as the critical context
  • 7.Discussion
  • 8.The bidirectional prediction
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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